Toy gas engine



May 5, 1925.

H. E. BROWN- TOY GAS ENGINE Filed mini 14.

Eva/004M301 Patented May 5, 1925.

U'NIT ED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HUGH E. BROWN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO W. M. WELGH MANUFACTUR- ING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

TOY GAS ENGINE.

Application filed April 14, 1920. Serial No. 373,853.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HUGH E.

cago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Toy Gas Engines; and

I do hereby declare the following totbe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the artto which it appertains to make and use the same. Y y

Th s invention relates to new and useful improvements in gas engines and more particularly to a small size or toyengine. The main object of the present invention being the provisionof new and improved means for regulating thesupplyviof air drawn into the mixing chamber whereby to more completely control the speed of the engine.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of an air regulator carried by the supply pipe which extends into the mixing chamber, said mixer cooperating with suitable openingsin the mixing chamber whereby to regulate the supply of air taken into the chamber and the mixer being adjustable whereby to regulate the speed at the engine and,'at the same time, vary the richness of theexplosive mixture.

With-the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel features and construction, the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in the claims and shown in the accompanying drawings, in

which e Figure 1 is a perspective view of a gas engine, illustrating my improvement applied thereto,

Figure 2 is a top plan view, and

Figure 3is a sectional" view taken" on a line 3-.3 of Figure 2.

The. general type of gas engine to which my improvement is applied consists in the frame 1 which supports the cylinder 2 and thebearings 33 of the crank shaft 1. Secured" upon each end of theEcrank shaft tare the fly wheels 5 and the connecting rod 6 forms a connection between the shaft l and the piston 7 within the cylinder 2. The supply of gas for usein driving the engine is conducted'through pipe 8 from which it is passed through an opening 12 near the closed end ofthecylinder. It willvbe noted that the truncation bet een t e pipes 10 and BROWN, cit-- men of the United States, residing at Chiby means of the orifice 14 formed inthe closed end 15 of the chamber.

The supply of air which is admitted to the chamber 13 through the openings 16 is controlled by means of a sleeve 17 threaded upon the tube 10 as illustrated in Figure 3 and is adapted to be moved upwardly within the lower end of the chamber 13 to open and close the openings 16 in the chamber and thus control the supply of air admitted to the chamber. The sleeve 17 is provided at its lower end with an outstanding flange 18 having an outer knurled surface 19 to provide a suitable grasping surface for the hand of the operator when it is desired to rotate the sleeve 17 to regulate the supply of air entering the chamber 13. From this, it will be apparent that the supply of air will not only assist in regulating the speed of the engine, but will help to vary the explosive mixture.

Air is drawn in through the opening 12 which is open to the air by meansof a larger opening 20 in the connection 21 which tends to further reduce the richness of the mix ture. Ignition is produced by a flame supplied by ajet of gas from a burner 22 which communicates with the supply pipe 9 and is located near the central portion of the cylinder 2. A suitable pin hole 23 is formed in the cylinder wall near the center thereof to permit the flame to enter the cylinder from the jet and fire the mixture within the cylinder.

In the'drawings, it will be noticed that I have provideda safety device for preventing the flame from setting fire to surround.- ing objects or clothing of the operator. This safety device includes a piece of sheet metal indicated at 24 and mounted in such a way as to partially enclose the flame and at the sametime allow space for expansion and release of pressure. This'safety device will be found of great value when the engine is to be used by children as it is practically a toy engine and is, therefore, a most necessary and very valuable attachment, It will be noted that the shield or plate 24 is rovided with a perforation 26' to admitrapidly moving gas exploded straight out f w pass throug t s ieldg'the sh eld and having a vertically ing horizontally taking care of the less rapidly moving gases and those which do not travel out through the opening 26.

From the above description, taken in connection with the accompan ing drawings, 1t will be readily apparent that I have provided an improved device for regulating the supply of air drawn into the mixing chamber before the mixture is introduced into the cylinder of the engine. Thus, it will be noticed that by grasping the knurled flange 18, the sleeve 17 can be rotated upon the tube 10 so as to control a supply of air en tering the chamber. It will be noted that the tube is of suliicient length and extends into the chamber asuitable distance so as to entirely close the opening 16 should this condition be required. In this particular construction, it will be readily apparent that not only the speed of the engine can be controlled, but the condition of the mixture before being introduced into the cylinder can be varied. The supply of fuel from the tube 8 into the tube 10 is controlled by means of a suitable valve member indicated at 27.

It will be noted that by my improved attachment, it will be possible to get greater variations in speed than merely with the use, of a needle valve for adjusting the supply of gas. This is due to the fact that when a certain amount of gas is admitted, it requires a certain amount of air to make the explosive mixture and if the amount of these is not variable, there of course is a limit to, the power which might be developed and hence the speed which may be produced, It will also be noted that by providing the guard 24 for the pilot light it will prevent the clothing of the operator or otherrobjects from coming in contact with the flame and as my improvement is particularly adapted for use as a toy engine, it will be apparent that this is a most necessary and valuable attachment in case the engine is to be used by children.

lVhat I claim is:

1. The combination with a gas engine; of a fuel; supply pipe feeding horizontally extended end, a mixing chamber mounted over said end and provided with side openings, a connection between the upper portion of the mixing chamber and the cylinder of the engine, the connection between the mixing chamber and the cylinder communicating with a passage leading from the atmosphere to the cylinder and freely open to, the atmosphere, and a sleeve movable on the fuel supply pipe and co-operating with the openings in the mix ing chamber to regulate or out off the pas sage of air through the same.

2. The combination with an engine of the class described; of a fuel feed pipe extendand provided with a freely open-ended upwardly" extended portion, a cylindrical mixing chamber around said upwardly extending port-ion and spaced from its surrounding wall concentrically, said mixing chamber being provided with openings near its lower end and a plugin its upper end formed with an orifice, a. pipe leading laterally from said orifice through the mixing chamber and communicating with the cylinder of the en ine, and a sleeve threaded upon the upwardly extending portion of the feed pipe and snugly fitting the lower end of the mixing chamber to vary the size of the openings, said sleeve having an operating head for turning the same.

3. The combination with an engine of the class described; of a fuel feed pipe extendingly horizontally and provided with a freely open ended upwardly extending portion, a cylindrical mixing chamber around said upwardly extending portion and, spaced from its surrounding wall concentrically, said mixing chamber being provided with an orifice, a pipe leading laterally from said orifice through the mixing chamber and communicating with the cylinder of the en gine, said connection to the cylinder having a bypass of larger size leading to the atmosphere in angular relation thereto, and a sleeve movably mounted on the feed pipe and in the mixing chamber and provided with a knurled operating head at its lower end for adjustment vertically of the sleeve by rotation thereof on the'pipe for regulating the passage of air through said opening.

4. The combination with a gas engine; of a fuel supply pipe feeding horizontally and having a vertically extended end, amixing chamber mounted over said end and provided with side openings, a connection between the upper portion of the mixing chamber and the cylinder of the engine, a sleeve adjustable in the lower end, of the mixing chamber around the upwardly ex tending end of the fuel supply pipe to vary the size of the openings or close off the same, a pilot burner connected with the fuel feed pipe and extending upwardly in substa-n-r tially conjunctial relation to the cylinder, said cylinder having a pin hole in the adjacent side intermediately of its length and above the upper end of the pilot burner, and a sheet metal guard member supported at one side and beneath the pilot burner and extending upwardly outwardly and then inwardly above the cylinder and having an opening therein in line with the pin hole of the cylinder and of larger diameter than the same to admit rapidly moving gas exploded straight out through the pin hole to pass through the guard member, the guard member taking care of the less rapidly moving gases and those which do not travel out through the opening therein,- for the purpose described.

5. The combination with a gas engine; of a fuel supply pipe feeding horizontally and having a vertically extended end, a mixing chamber mounted over said end and provided with side openings, a connection between the upper portion of the mixing chamber and the cylinder of the engine, a sleeve adjustable in the lower end of the mixing chamber around the upwardly ex-- tending end of the fuel supply pipe to vary the size of the openings or close off the same, and ashield supported at one side of the pilot burner and convexed away from the same and the adjacent side of the cylinder, the cylinder having a pin hole therein and the shield having a larger opening in line with the pin hole, as and for the purposes described.

6. The combination of an engine of the class described; of a fuel feed pipe, a mixing chamber connected with the feed pipe and having a lateral branch leading to the engine cylinders, a pilot burner connected with the fuel feed pipe and extending upwardly in substantially tangential relation to the cylinder, said cylinder having a pin hole in the adjacent side intermediately of its length and above the upper end of the pilot burner, and a sheet metal guard member supported at one side and beneath the pilot burner and extending upwardly outwardly and then inwardly above'the cylinder and having an opening therein in line with the pin hole of the cylinder and of larger diameter than the same to admit rapidly moving gas exploded straight out through the pin hole to pass through the guard member, the guard member taki i; care of the less rapidly moving gases a. those which do not travel out through the opening therein, for the purpose described.

7. In a toy gas engine of the class described, the combination with a cylinder having a fuel inlet opening near one end thereof; of a fuel feed nipe, a vertical mixing chamber connected with the fuel feed pipe, by a lateral branch at its upper end, said mixing chamber being provided with air inlet openings in the sides thereof, a sleeve threaded upon the feed pipe and movable vertically by rotation thereon within the chamber whereby to control the intake of air through said openings, and having an operating head at the lower end thereof, a pilot burner connected with the fuel feed ipe and adapted to produce a flame adjacent to cylinder, said cylinder having a pin hole adjacent to flame, and a shield extending upwardly between the pilot burner and the mixing chamber above the cylinder and provided with an opening larger than the pin hole and in line therewith horizontally to admit rapidly moving gas exploded straight out through the pin hole "from the cylinder to pass through the shield, the less rapidly moving gases and those which do not travel out through the opening in the shield being engaged with the latter, to prevent burning of the operator.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

HUGH E. BROWN. 

